He has no points in the last four games and is minus-2. What’s more, he just isn’t as dynamic as he was earlier in the year, tallying just four points in the last 10 games.

That’s right, the 22-year-old forward, who was drafted in the fifth round in 2007 and converted to center last year, has to be better, and quickly. That’s the way it goes when you’re a budding superstar in the NHL.

To be honest, Benn shouldn’t have to face these expectations. He has 23 points, which projects to 72 over a full season. Fellow late draft pick Pavel Datsyuk tallied 51 points when he was 22. Henrik Zetterberg had 44. Heck, Brad Richards had 62 points at age 22, and that’s the guy Benn is trying to replace, right?

But, since the Stars stole Benn with the 129th pick, he has shown that he’s special.

He led the Western Hockey League in scoring, he lead Team Canada in scoring at the World Juniors. He led the Memorial Cup in scoring. He led the Texas Stars to the AHL finals. He led the Stars in scoring with 19 points in the first 16 games of the season. He has defied expectations wherever he has gone.

So he has only himself to blame for being this good.

On one hand, you want to cut the kid some slack and tell him it will be OK if he doesn’t lead the Stars in scoring every second of the season. On the other, you want to see if the external pressure kicks his performance up to an even higher level. It’s an interesting study in the development of an athlete.

“Benny is a battler,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “Like all great players, he is going to go through hot streaks and cold streaks. We’ve seen that before. And every time, he’s come out strong and found a way through it.”

Gulutzan, who coached Benn through the 2010 AHL playoffs, said he has seen him conquer the process. He said he has been impressed by Benn’s resiliency.

“You go through the whole criteria of working your way through it, almost like grieving,” Gulutzan said. “You try to do too much, now you try to scale that back, now you try to do extra work on the ice at practice. …

“Every hockey player of that level tries to do the same thing, and they all come out of it. I think you have to realize that the league is tough, and that’s just how it goes.

“It’s like playing blackjack. You’re not always hot, so you have to grind through the tough times and take advantage of the good times.”

Benn is doing that. He is pushing hard to create scoring opportunities, and he leads the team in shots on goal with 86. Maybe that’s why the expectations are so high.

“Benner is such a good player,” said Loui Eriksson, who has been his linemate for most of the season. “So you see that, other teams see that, and he just attracts a lot of attention. It’s something we have to deal with as a line, and we’re trying to do that while not feeling too much pressure. “

Benn said he doesn’t mind the pressure. Yes, it is daunting at his age to be expected to lead the team in scoring, to replace Richards, who scored 168 points in the last two seasons with the Stars then signed a nine-year contract with the Rangers.

But he’s fine with that. Asked if he liked the expectations, Benn responded: “Yeah, I do. … You want to be the go-to guy. You want the challenge to be the best you can be. That’s the best part of the game. You need to challenge yourself.”

So he’s confident that he can break through this “slump” or whatever you want to call it.

“It’s something I’ve had all of my life and learned to deal with,” Benn said. “It’s a little different at this level, but it’s the same thinking. You know that as long as the chances are coming and you’re playing hard, then you’ll find a way to work through it.”

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